America's Benefit Specialist December 2023

A CONVERSATION WITH JESSICA BROOKS-WOODS

quo, identify absurdities and realign focus towards the needs of purchasers and the community. Joining PBGH felt like the culmination of my passion and desire to contribute more meaningfully to a cause greater than myself. It was a leap into a world where I could harness my experiences, knowledge, and innate drive to make a tangible difference. Looking back, every step, every risk was worth it, leading me to a role where I could truly influence and shape the healthcare landscape. Your experiences at PBGH certainly seem to have enriched your perspective and approach as a leader in healthcare. Aside from your career in healthcare, you’ve also founded other companies. Could you share more about these ven tures and the inspiration behind them? Jessica Brooks-Woods : I’d be happy to. The genesis of my first venture, The Health Desk, later evolving into Rise Health Equity, stemmed from a personal realization of an urgent need in the community. As a visible leader in healthcare, I started receiving messages from members of the commu nity seeking advocacy in healthcare situations. These were people desperate for help, often feeling ignored or wrongfully accused in healthcare settings. This wasn’t just an isolated incident or limited to a specific healthcare provider. It was a widespread issue, with women frequently feeling marginalized in their healthcare experi ences. Recognizing this, I began leveraging my connections, reaching out to executives and CEOs in the healthcare indus try to bring attention to these incidents.

the healthcare industry. Subsequently, I took on the chal lenge of assisting in the reengineering the diversity, equity, and inclusion department. Our objective was to integrate DEI across strategic business units, bridging gaps between work place, marketplace and community perspectives. Despite recognizing DEI as crucial, I observed it often being relegated to a “program” status rather than a core strategic imperative. Parallel to this professional journey, I was pursuing my grad uate degree—a significant investment of time, energy and resources. I was keenly aware of my potential to contribute more substantially to healthcare, drawing not just from my professional background but also my personal experiences. I didn’t want this investment in my education to be underuti lized so I gave myself a timeframe to explore where my career could evolve, both within and outside the organization. It was during this period of exploration and self-reflection that PBGH came into my life in an unexpected way. I was at a crossroads, pregnant, with a two-year-old and a five-year old at home. It was a risk—leaving a health insurance com pany with robust benefits for a leadership role in a smaller organization that, ironically, didn’t offer healthcare benefits at that time. Yet, the potential for impact and influence at PBGH was undeniable. In Western Pennsylvania, the healthcare landscape was dominated by a few major systems, creating a near-oligopoly scenario. Employers were grappling with this dynamic, seek ing a voice and a way to influence the direction of healthcare delivery. My approach at PBGH was marked by what I like to call “naïve superpower” – the ability to question the status

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